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Wind farms, measured from the resource to the rotor.

A wind farm is decided on measured wind and judged on measured performance. Before construction, masts and lidar establish the resource for financing; in operation, turbines report their own state while independent sensors check performance, condition, icing, lightning and wildlife. One observation network carries the project from the first mast to the twentieth year.

Industry

Energy

Measurements

5

Sources cited

3

1. Energy · Wind farms

   Financed on wind, judged on performance

   A wind farm is financed on the wind it expects and judged on the power it delivers, for twenty years or more. Between those two numbers lie turbines that wear, ice that forms, lightning that strikes and wildlife that permits protect. Observation keeps every one of them measured and on the record.

2. What is measured

   Wind, rotor, ice and wildlife

   Met masts and ground-based lidar measure wind speed, direction and turbulence; sensors in the nacelle follow drivetrain vibration and temperature; icing and lightning sensors record events; wildlife radar and acoustic detectors record activity where the permit asks. Power comes from the turbines themselves.

   Instruments

   Met masts · Lidar · Drivetrain sensors · Icing · Lightning · Wildlife radar

3. The base node

   Gateways in the nacelle, a node at the substation

   Industrial gateways read wind and drivetrain sensors over Modbus; lidar and wildlife radar connect over Ethernet. The substation’s node signs every value, computes performance against measured wind and condition trends, and keeps the record through outages of the farm’s outside link.

4. Radio and links

   Fibre along the collector network

   The collector network’s fibre reaches every turbine and carries observation data beside SCADA. A private network serves masts, radar, cameras and crews, satellite serves pre-construction masts, and cellular serves early masts where it reaches. Each path is chosen from the survey.

   Links

   Fibre · Private LTE · Satellite · Public cellular

5. How it works

   From an anemometer to a performance report

   A cup or sonic anemometer reports through its gateway, the lidar reports directly, and the substation’s node combines both with turbine output, signs the result and stores it. Each test period, performance is computed against measured wind following international methods and reported to the owner.

6. From order to operation · Order

   Scope the resource or the fleet

   For a project, the scope covers resource measurement to the standard lenders expect; for an operating farm, performance, condition, icing and wildlife monitoring. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns the measurement plan, the radio approach, the reporting and a price per mast, per turbine and per farm.

   Plan a deployment

7. From order to operation · Survey

   Survey the site with the wind engineer

   Crews visit candidate mast and lidar positions or the operating farm with the owner’s wind engineer. They check terrain and obstacles, access roads, coverage, existing turbine SCADA and condition systems, and record every position with coordinates and photos. Sight lines for wildlife radar and coverage for private radio are checked across the whole site.

8. From order to operation · Permits

   Masts, aviation and wildlife

   Masts need planning consent and, often, aviation marking; wildlife monitoring follows the permit’s conditions. Access to turbines follows the operator’s safety rules for working at height, and integration with turbine SCADA is agreed with the turbine supplier’s service team. Every consent and condition is kept with the mast or turbine it applies to.

9. From order to operation · Build

   Build masts and nacelle kits

   Met stations, lidar enclosures, nacelle sensor kits, gateways and the substation node are built and tested, each enrolled with its identity and the mast or turbine it serves. Calibration certificates for wind sensors are kept with each instrument. Nacelle kits are prepared per turbine model, so installation fits the maintenance visit.

   Open the Station Builder

10. From order to operation · Install

    Install masts, then turbines

    Masts and lidar are installed and levelled first, then sensors in nacelles during scheduled maintenance, wildlife radar where required and the substation node. Every position is checked against the plan and photographed. Lidar and masts are placed where the measurement plan requires, clear of turbine wakes where the method demands it. Each position is surveyed so later analyses use the right coordinates.

11. From order to operation · Commission

    Commission against references

    Each node proves its identity; wind sensors are checked against their calibrations and, where planned, lidar against a mast. Condition sensors are checked against the turbine’s own readings, and alerts are tested from nacelle to console. Results are signed into the farm’s record before operation begins.

12. From order to operation · Operate

    Performance, condition and conditions

    The console shows each turbine’s performance against measured wind, condition trends, icing and lightning events and wildlife activity. Alerts arrive with their data, and performance reports are produced for owners and lenders’ engineers. Every alert, curtailment and response is logged against the turbine it concerns, so patterns across the fleet can be found.

13. From order to operation · Maintain

    Twenty years of consistent data

    Wind sensors are recalibrated or exchanged on schedule, lidar is serviced, nacelle kits are checked during maintenance and software moves in rings. The farm’s record stays consistent across decades, so performance can be compared year to year. Sensor exchanges are overlapped where the method requires, so the series stays continuous.

    Book field services

14. Data products

    For developers, owners and lenders

    Developers and lenders’ engineers receive resource reports; owners and asset managers see performance; maintenance teams receive condition alerts; operators and insurers receive icing and lightning records; permitting authorities receive wildlife records. Every product rests on the same calibrated, signed measurements.

    See the data products

15. Evidence

    Measurements lenders accept

    Calibration certificates, validation of lidar against masts, every alert and every report are kept as signed records. Resource and performance measurements follow international wind energy methods, and turbine data follows the wind power plant communication standard, so independent engineers can verify the results.

    Drawn against

    IEC 61400-12-1 · IEC 61400-25 · ISO 20816

16. What you get

    Sensing as a Service

    Observation networks designed, installed, operated and maintained for a monthly fee: weather, hydromet, air, seismic and environmental stations, with data delivered under a licence. Delivered as managed service and data licence, for agencies, utilities, municipalities, insurers, agribusiness. Scale: Global, multi-site, per-site pricing.

    Talk to sales

17. Next step

    Plan wind farms with us

    Tell us the site, the measurements and the rules it answers to. We reply with a survey proposal, a design and a scope for wind farms. An engineer replies with a survey proposal and a scope, and the plan grows from one site to the network you need, at your pace.

    Plan a deploymentOpen the Station BuilderOpen the Studio

01The place and its hazards

Where it runs, and what can go wrong.

Operating contextOnshore wind farms place tens of turbines across ridges and plains, joined by a collector network to a substation. Resource assessment uses met masts and ground-based lidar to support financing, and power performance is tested against international methods. In operation, turbine controllers report to SCADA, while condition monitoring, ice detection and wildlife monitoring are required by owners, insurers or permits.

Hazards

• Gearbox, bearing and blade failures
• Ice accretion and ice throw
• Lightning strikes on blades
• Collision risk for birds and bats
• Underperformance against the financed energy yield

02What must be measured

What, where, how often, and under which rules.

Each measurement names where it is taken, how often, and the public standard or regulation behind it. Numbers in the sources column open the cited source below.

03The observation stack

From one base unit to a network.

The same blocks at every scale: instruments and a base node, a site with its radio, a fleet run as one, and a network federated on the open protocol.

1. 01

   Base unit

   A met or nacelle station: wind, icing and vibration sensors read through an industrial gateway, and a node that signs and keeps every value.

   Build a station →
2. 02

   Site

   A wind farm: met masts or lidar, condition monitoring on turbines, wildlife radar where required, joined to the substation by the collector network’s fibre.

   Plan a site →
3. 03

   Fleet

   Every farm of an owner run as one fleet, with one performance and condition record.

   Managed offers →
4. 04

   Network

   Owners, lenders’ engineers, operators and grid operators read federated records, each with the access their role gives them.

   The open protocol →

• 01Lidar scanner
• 02Compact weather station
• 03Vibration and condition monitor
• 04Surveillance radar (FMCW)
• 05OT gateway (OPC UA, Modbus)
• 06Edge node (Wedge)
• 07Fibre terminal
• 08Solar array
• 09Lattice tower

Radio and links

Fibre

The collector network’s fibre reaches every turbine and the substation, and carries observation data alongside turbine SCADA.

Radio and links

Private LTE

A private network across the farm serves met masts, wildlife radar, cameras and crews without trenching.

Radio and links

Satellite

Masts measuring the resource before construction usually have no network; satellite carries their data.

Radio and links

Public cellular

Where coverage exists, cellular modems serve early met masts at low cost.

Edge computeAn edge node at the substation computes performance against measured wind, flags condition trends and icing and keeps the farm’s record during any outage.

PowerMet masts and lidar run on solar and batteries before the farm is built; afterwards stations take power from the collector network with battery backup.

04How it works

From the instrument to the product.

One observation’s path, tier by tier, with the interface on every link and a bill of materials below; then how the one node grows to a site, a fleet and federated networks.

05From order to operation

Every step, from the first call to a running site.

The same crew and the same record carry the work from scope to maintenance.

1. 01 Order

   Scope the resource or the fleet

   For a project, the scope covers resource measurement to the standard lenders expect; for an operating farm, performance, condition, icing and wildlife monitoring. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns the measurement plan, the radio approach, the reporting and a price per mast, per turbine and per farm. 1

2. 02 Survey

   Survey the site with the wind engineer

   Crews visit candidate mast and lidar positions or the operating farm with the owner’s wind engineer. They check terrain and obstacles, access roads, coverage, existing turbine SCADA and condition systems, and record every position with coordinates and photos. Sight lines for wildlife radar and coverage for private radio are checked across the whole site.

3. 03 Permits

   Masts, aviation and wildlife

   Masts need planning consent and, often, aviation marking; wildlife monitoring follows the permit’s conditions. Access to turbines follows the operator’s safety rules for working at height, and integration with turbine SCADA is agreed with the turbine supplier’s service team. Every consent and condition is kept with the mast or turbine it applies to.

4. 04 Build

   Build masts and nacelle kits

   Met stations, lidar enclosures, nacelle sensor kits, gateways and the substation node are built and tested, each enrolled with its identity and the mast or turbine it serves. Calibration certificates for wind sensors are kept with each instrument. Nacelle kits are prepared per turbine model, so installation fits the maintenance visit.

5. 05 Install

   Install masts, then turbines

   Masts and lidar are installed and levelled first, then sensors in nacelles during scheduled maintenance, wildlife radar where required and the substation node. Every position is checked against the plan and photographed. Lidar and masts are placed where the measurement plan requires, clear of turbine wakes where the method demands it. Each position is surveyed so later analyses use the right coordinates.

6. 06 Commission

   Commission against references

   Each node proves its identity; wind sensors are checked against their calibrations and, where planned, lidar against a mast. Condition sensors are checked against the turbine’s own readings, and alerts are tested from nacelle to console. Results are signed into the farm’s record before operation begins.

7. 07 Operate

   Performance, condition and conditions

   The console shows each turbine’s performance against measured wind, condition trends, icing and lightning events and wildlife activity. Alerts arrive with their data, and performance reports are produced for owners and lenders’ engineers. Every alert, curtailment and response is logged against the turbine it concerns, so patterns across the fleet can be found.

8. 08 Maintain

   Twenty years of consistent data

   Wind sensors are recalibrated or exchanged on schedule, lidar is serviced, nacelle kits are checked during maintenance and software moves in rings. The farm’s record stays consistent across decades, so performance can be compared year to year. Sensor exchanges are overlapped where the method requires, so the series stays continuous.

06Data products and integration

What it delivers, to whom, and into which systems.

Data products

• Wind resource reports for financingDevelopers and lenders’ engineers
• Power performance against measured windOwners, asset managers and lenders
• Condition alerts with trendsMaintenance teams and turbine service providers
• Icing and lightning event recordsOperators, insurers and safety managers
• Wildlife monitoring recordsEnvironmental managers and permitting authorities

Integration

• Turbine SCADATurbine data is read through the farm’s SCADA interfaces, including IEC 61400-25 where available.
• Asset managementCondition alerts and performance results feed the owner’s asset management system.
• Grid operatorMeasured wind and availability support the forecasts the farm provides to the grid operator.

Exchanged through IEC 61400-25, OPC UA (IEC 62541), OGC SensorThings API.

07Questions buyers ask

Before you scope it.

Can lidar replace a met mast?

For many purposes ground-based lidar is accepted when validated against a mast or by recognised methods; the plan states which approach lenders will accept for your project.

Does this replace turbine SCADA?

No. It reads turbine SCADA and adds independent measurements beside it.

Can wildlife monitoring curtail turbines automatically?

Detections can be offered to the turbine control system, but curtailment rules are set by the permit and the operator.

Who owns the measured wind data?

The project owner. Data is shared with lenders and others under the owner’s licence.

08Resources

The sources behind this page.

Public standards, regulations and guidance, cited where they apply. Each applies only where its jurisdiction or scope does.

1. 1IEC 61400-12-1: Wind energy generation systems, power performance measurementsInternational Electrotechnical Commission
2. 2Guide to Instruments and Methods of Observation (WMO-No. 8)World Meteorological Organization
3. 3ISO 20816: Mechanical vibration, measurement and evaluation of machine vibrationInternational Organization for Standardization

09Related

Use cases and solutions.

10Energy: specialized fields

Other fields of this industry.

Bring us the site.

Plan a deployment, configure a station, model it in the Studio or talk to sales. The form names who receives your details.